For almost a decade, the fascinating discussion over which side has been the most dominating in cricket has grabbed the attention of fans, analysts, and experts all across the world. It’s still one of those things that elicits strong opinions based on emotional reasons and statistical grandeur.
These are the teams who have reached incredible heights while maintaining their class throughout time. They dominated their respective contemporaries with ease and grace, demonstrating the impregnable level of cricket they played.
Below are some of the best cricket teams of all time:-
5) Pakistan National Cricket team:
The Pakistan Cricket Board manages the Pakistan national cricket team, also known as the Shaheens Green Shirts, Men in Green, and Cornered Tigers. The squad is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council and competes in Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International matches.
Pakistan has played 444 Test matches, with 145 victories, 135 defeats, and 164 draws. Pakistan was granted Test status on July 28, 1952, and made their Test debut against India in Delhi in October of that year, losing by an innings and 70 runs.
The team has also played 190 Twenty20 Internationals, winning 117, losing 65, and tying 3. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and was runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 2007.
Pakistan is a team that has always shuriken the batting lineups of all the giant teams with their specialized pace bowling attack.
Honors of Pakistan Cricket team:
- World Cup:
- Champions (1): 1992
- Runners-up (1): 1999
- T20 World Cup:
- Champions (1): 2009
- Runners-up (1): 2007
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (1): 2017
- Asia Cup:
- Champions (2): 2000, 2012
- Runners-up (2): 1986, 2014
1992 World Cup:
Pakistan cricket team entered the 1992 World cup with the most lethal bowling attack. The likes of captain Imran khan, the young gun Inzamam – Ul – Haq along with the dangerous Wasim Akram was ready for the world cup.
The first match was upset for Pakistan against the mighty West indies but in the next match against Zimbabwe, Aamir Sohail showed who the real boss is.
In the semi-finals, Pakistan was all set to chase the favorites New Zealand. Pakistan managed to constrict the Kiwis for only 262 runs but the top order collapse of Pakistan had put the team in trouble.
Pakistan batted cautiously, but wickets fell at regular intervals. With Imran Khan and Saleem Malik departing shortly after, Pakistan still needed 115 runs at 7.67 runs per over, with veteran Javed Miandad staying at the crease as the last known batter. With a match-winning 60 off 37 balls, a youthful Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, exploded onto the world arena.
Pakistan needed 36 runs from 30 balls after Inzamam was out, which wicket-keeper Moin Khan achieved with a soaring six over far off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket.
Early 21st Century:
During the start of the 21st century, all great teams used to fear the lethal bowling attack as the Pakistan bowlers used to bowl at an average speed of around 145 km/h which was considered as the top speed for normal bowlers during that time.
Players like Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam – Ul – Haw, Shahid Afridi, and many more were the pillars of the Pakistan team who helped Pakistan establish themselves as the giants of World Cricket.
4) New Zealand:
In men’s international cricket, the New Zealand national cricket team represents the country. The Black Caps, as they were known, played their first Test against England in Christchurch in 1930, becoming the sixth country to do so. New Zealand had to wait more than 26 years, from 1930, to win its first Test match, against the West Indies at Eden Park in Auckland. In the 1972–73 season, they played their maiden One-Day International (ODI) against Pakistan in Christchurch.
New Zealand had played 1390 international matches as of 2 March 2022, winning 541, losing 622, tying 15, and drawing 168, with 44 matches ending in a draw. The ICC rankings have the team placed third in Tests, the highest-rated team in ODIs, and fourth in T20Is.
The Kane Williamson Era ( 2019-2021 ):
2019 World cup:
While Williamson was named as the captain of the side before the 2019 ODi world cup, the likes of bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult, deadly batsmen Martin Guptil and Ross Taylor made the Kiwi side unstoppable.
The New Zealand side seemed unstoppable and easily went on to crush down its opponents until and win all the matches the semi finals. The Kiwis were the favorites to win the World cup but fate had other plans.
New Zealand lost the finals at the super over by the boundary count system but the great team was now considered as a giant in world cricket.
ICC Test cricket Championship:
New Zealand finished 2nd in the ICC test rankings and was eligible to play the inaugural test championship against India.
India was the favorite to win the championship as they seemed dominant against their opponents. But the dominance showed by New Zealand against India clinched the trophy for the Kiwis.
2021 ICC t20 Championship:
New Zealand was again the favorite to win the 2021 T20 championship as everyone was aware of the death squad which had the deadly bowlers Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Mitchell Santner, calm and composed batsmen Kane Williamson and Martin Guptil.
New Zealand only lost the first match against Pakistan and went on to win all the group stage matches.
In the semi-finals, New Zealand took their revenge from England for the 2019 World cup and defeated them to head towards the finals but had to face disappointment again this time against Australia.
The dominance shown by New Zealand in Cricket between the 2019 to 2021 era was something out of the world. This was the best team of New Zealand in the recent era.
Honors of New Zealand team:
- World Test Championship:
- Champions (1): 2019–2021
- World Cup:
- Runners-up (2): 2015, 2019
- T20 World Cup:
- Runners-up (1): 2021
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (1): 2000
- Runners-up (1): 2009
3) Indian cricket team:
In men’s international cricket, the Indian men’s national cricket team, often known as Team India or the Men in Blue, represents India. It is overseen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and is an ICC Full Member with Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I) status.
1983 – 1985:
With stroke makers like Mohammed Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, and all-rounders like Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri, India evolved a more attack-minded batting line-up in the 1980s. Due to a great bowling performance, India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983, upsetting the favorites and two-time reigning champions West Indies in the final at Lord’s.
Before the 1983 World Cup campaign, the Indian team was considered to be a below-average team but the team managed to turn things around.
Despite this, the squad struggled in the Test arena, going without a win for 28 straight Test matches. India won the Asia Cup in 1984 and the World Championship in Australia in 1985. Aside from that, India has remained a poor squad outside of India.
Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev (India’s finest all-rounder to date) were at the peak of their careers in the 1980s. Gavaskar set a Test record with 34 hundred on his way to becoming the first player to achieve 10,000 runs. With 434 wickets, Kapil Dev became the top wicket-taker in Test cricket.
India 2007 to 2013:
In September 2007, India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, defeating Pakistan in the final by 5 runs. They toured Australia in 2007–08, losing the very contentious home Test series 2–1 but winning the CB series the following month with a whitewash of Australia.
India won their first Test series in New Zealand in 41 years in April 2009. India earned the world’s No. 1 Test team after defeating Sri Lanka 2–0 in December 2009. They kept their position in the rankings after drawing a series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.
India thrashed Australia 2–0 at home in October 2010, earning them back-to-back series victories over them. Later that year, India drew the Test series in South Africa 1–1.
2011 World cup:
In the 2011 World cup, India established quite a few records. India entered the World cup with legendary and talented players like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and a lot more.
The name of a cricket player like Sachin Tendulkar in the cricketing world was enough to scare bowlers away. He was a stylishly ruthless batsman. India comfortably made it to the finals and some crucial knocks by Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and MS Dhoni won the game for India.
On 2 April 2011, India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup by defeating Sri Lanka in the final, becoming the third team to do so after the West Indies and Australia. India also made history by being the first team to win the World Cup on its own turf.
Post World Cup
Dhoni became the first skipper in history to win the ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC World Twenty20, and ICC Champions Trophy as India defeated England in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy final. This was followed by a win in the 2013 West Indies Triangular Series, which included India, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka.
Honors Of the Indian team:
ICC
- World Test Championship:
- Runners-up (1): 2019–2021
- World Cup:
- Champions (2): 1983, 2011
- Runners-up (1): 2003
- T20 World Cup:
- Champions (1): 2007
- Runners-up (1): 2014
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (2): 2002, 2013
- Runners-up (2): 2000, 2017
ACC
- Asia Cup:
- Champions (7): 1984, 1988, 1990–91, 1995, 2010, 2016, 2018
- Runners-up (3): 1997, 2004, 2008
West indies Cricket team:
The West Indies cricket team, sometimes known as the Windies, is a multi-national men’s cricket team that represents the Caribbean region’s primarily English-speaking countries and territories and is managed by Cricket West Indies. This composite team’s players are drawn from a network of fifteen Caribbean nation-states and territories. The West Indies cricket team is placed seventh in Tests and ninth in both ODIs and T20Is in the official ICC rankings as of 13 May 2021.
1970s to 1980s:
The West Indies squad was the strongest in the world in both Test and One Day International cricket from the mid-late 1970s to the early 1980s. The West Indies has produced a number of world-class cricketers, including the following:
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame has inducted Garfield Sobers, Lance Gibbs, George Headley, Brian Lara, Vivian Richards, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Alvin Kallicharran, Andy Roberts, Rohan Kanhai, Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Curtly Ambrose, Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh, Joel Garner, and Wes Hall.
By the late 1970s, the West Indies, led by Clive Lloyd, had established themselves as unofficial world champions, a status they held throughout the 1980s. During their heyday, the West Indies were known for their four-man fast bowling attack, which was backed up by some of the world’s top batters.
Fast bowler Michael Holding took 14/149 in the OvalTest against England in 1976, creating a record that still stands for the greatest bowling stats by a West Indian bowler in a Test. During the 1980s, the squad set a then-record string of 11 straight Test victories in 1984, as well as inflicting two 5–0 “blackwashes” on England.
Before the 1975 World Cup final, England said they would make the West Indies squad grovel at the ground. The Windies did not react and just went on to win 2 consecutive World cups and had almost got their hands at the third.
This West Indies squad used to win matches for fun.
Honors of the West Indies Team:
- World Cup:
- Champions (2): 1975,1979
- Runners-up (1): 1983
- T20 World Cup:
- Champions (2): 2012, 2016
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (1): 2004
- Runners-up (2): 1998, 2006
1)Australian cricket team:
Australia’s men’s national cricket team competes in men’s international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, having played in the first-ever Test match in 1877, the team also participates in One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket, having won both the first ODI against England in the 1970–71 season and the first T20I against New Zealand in the 2004–05 season.
The squad is made up of players from the Australian domestic championships, including the Sheffield Shield, the Australian domestic limited-overs cricket event, and the Big Bash League.
Sir Don Bradman era:
The 1930 tour of England signaled the beginning of a new era of success for the Australian team. The squad, coached by Bill Woodfull – the “Great Un-bowl able” – included game classics such as Bill Ponsford, Stan McCabe, Clarrie Grimmett, and the rising duo of Archie Jackson and Don Bradman. Bradman was the series’ top batsman, amassing a series-high 974 runs, including one century, two double centuries, and one triple century, as well as a magnificent 334 at Leeds, which included 309 runs in a day.
Sir Donald Bradman is largely regarded as the greatest batsman in history. From 1930 until his retirement in 1948, he dominated the sport, breaking new marks for the best Test innings score (334 versus England at Headingley in 1930), the most runs (6996), the most centuries (29), the most double centuries, and the highest Test and first-class batting averages.
His top Test batting average of 99.94 has never been surpassed. It is about 40 runs per inning higher than the next greatest average. If he hadn’t been bowled for a duck in his final Test, he would have ended with an average of more than 100 runs per innings.
Hattrick of World cups and King of world Cricket:
The Australian team between 1999 to 2003 was arguably the best cricket team as they won a hattrick of world cups which is practically impossible unless you stand at the top greatest cricket teams of all time.
The likes of Captain Ricky Ponting, all-rounder Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist, and Matthew Hayden made history and became the best team of all time.
Ricky Ponting was a capable leader who made this possible. Ricky Ponting’s men used to dominate every world cup match they played. Steve Waugh, all-rounder Shane Warne, and Adam Gilchrist showed the world at every cup final why they are considered to be the best.
Adam Gilchrist scored 50+ runs at all the three finals which is a record yet to be broken. Australia is the best team made a record of Hattrick of Cups which is a record that seems unbreakable.
Honors of the Australian team:
- World Cup:
- Champions (5): 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015
- Runners-up (2): 1975, 1996
- T20 World Cup:
- Champions (1): 2021
- Runners-up (1): 2010
- Champions Trophy:
- Champions (2): 2006, 2009
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